The research performance of most former Soviet states is still low compared with that of many Western countries. In my view, progress will be stifled as long as the archaic academic systems passed down from the former Soviet Union persist.

I have analysed the research performance of several of these nations on the basis of their per capita gross expenditure on research and development (GERD; see go.nature.com/8oclnj) from 1998 to 2010 and their number of research publications from 1998 to 2012 (see www.scimagojr.com).

Credit: UNESCO INSTITUTE FOR STATISTICS/SCIMAGO JOURNAL & COUNTRY RANK

The Baltic countries — Estonia, Lithuania and Latvia — were notably more productive in 2012 than Russia, Ukraine and Belarus (see 'Research performance in former Soviet nations', left), with Estonia's publication output per 1,000 people approaching that of the United States (1.7 in 2012). Also, the research performance of the Baltic states has progressed markedly since 1998 (see figure, right).

The figure also shows that each country's publication output seems to have improved as research funding has increased. Georgia, however, had no increase in GERD between 1998 and 2005 (no more recent data are available), yet managed to more than triple its number of research publications between 1998 and 2012. Russia and Belarus have given a particularly poor return on investment in terms of research publications.

The success of Georgia and the Baltic states since 1998 may be connected with their adoption of internationally recognized standards for doctorate degrees and academic promotion. These countries now use a Western PhD model dedicated to original research, and career advancement depends on producing international peer-reviewed publications — which is not the case in Russia, Ukraine, Belarus and other former Soviet states.

Those poorly performing countries continue to use the old Soviet split-level doctorate degree. This degree can take more than 20 years to complete and involves only a minimal initial training in research, which may not be original and is not subject to independent peer review. The rest of a candidate's time is taken up with administrative tasks — for example, preparing reports for committees and government departments.

The poor research performance in most former Soviet states stems partly from weak funding management (data not shown). But there is also an urgent need for fundamental academic reform in those countries.